Celebrity Playlist: 10 Actors-Turned-Musicians Who Don't Suck

Celebrity Playlist: 10 Actors-Turned-Musicians Who Don’t Suck

A lot of actors dabble in music. Most of them suck. These 10 actors-turned-musicans do not.

-Lucia Peters

There are an awful lot of actors out there who like to style themselves as musicians. Why, just last week, we found out that Robert Pattinson is joining the bunch. We’re still undecided on Rob, though unfortunately, many actors who dabble in music suck. But not all of them!These 10 actors-turned-musicians, for example, definitely DON’T suck. In fact, they’re AWESOME.Want to take a listen? We have videos!

Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie is best known as the cantankerous Dr. Gregory House, but interestingly, House’s fondness of the piano grew out of Laurie’s own musical talents. He finally released an album this year; called Let Them Talk, it features 15 tracks of gorgeous New Orleans-style blues. Here’s the title track.

Zooey Deschanel

The quirky star of this fall’s new television The New Girl, Zooey Deschanel is also one half of the indie pop duo She & Him. Zooey sings and plays the piano and ukulele, while M. Ward supplies the guitar. If you’ll recall from that scene from Elf, Zooey has a sweet, jazzy voice that’s perfectly suited to the indie scene. I dare you to listen to “In the Sun” off their second album, Volume Two, and not start dancing along.

Wes Anderson favorite Jason Schwartzman is the spokesperson for nerds everywhere. He was also the drummer for the band Phantom Planet from 1994 to 2003, the band who is probably best known for the song “California,” a.k.a. the theme song from The O.C. Say what you will about the show itself, but the song is awesome. Fun fact: My brother auditioned for Rushmore and lost out to Jason because he was “too tall” and “not ugly enough.” Note that we come from a short family. True story.

Ryan Gosling

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Ryan Gosling can do no wrong. Case in point: Dead Man’s Bones. Born out of a failed attempt to write a musical based around the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, Gosling and fellow actor Zach Shields have created something else entirely. But it’s mysterious, and gorgeous,s and it has songs about zombies, ghosts, werewolves, and all sorts of other interesting things. Check out the video for “Dead Hearts” here. The song is haunting, and the video itself is… really something else. I don’t know if I can adequately describe it, so you’ll just have to see it for yourselves.

Juliette Lewis

Juliette Lewis is kind of kooky, but I’m willing to roll with it. She’s said that she always used music to help her prep for acting roles; now, she’s taking the time to explore the musical side of herself more fully. A rocker through and through, she led Juliette and the Licks until 2009; now she’s with a band called The New Romantiques. The New Romantique’s “Terra Incognita,” by the way, is excellent work-out music. It’s also excellent angry-raging-smashing-stuff music.

More actor-musicians, including Johnny Depp, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Jared Leto, up next!